Having been shut down for seven years, the Sidi Bou Ali dairy factory is preparing to restart under a new identity and completely revised governance. Taken over by the State through the Caisse des DĂ©pĂŽts and public banks, the structure was reborn under the name âTunisie Laitâ, with the ambition of regaining a central role in the sector.
Closed since November 2018, the Sidi Bou Ali dairy factory will soon resume its activities. The relaunch comes following a recovery operation led by the public authorities. The announcement was confirmed on December 24 by Sadok Laarif, auditor and legal representative, during a media intervention.
A recovery orchestrated by the State
The restart of the industrial site is the result of a structured buyout process, marked by direct intervention by the President of the Republic, KaĂŻs SaĂŻed. According to Sadok Laarif, this involvement made it possible to strengthen national participation and place the factory under public control, after a phase of coordination between all the stakeholders concerned.
The operation resulted in the acquisition of the company Elbene Industrie by Caisse des DĂ©pĂŽts et Consignations, in partnership with three public banks: BNA, STB and BH Bank. From this new configuration was born an entity renamed âTunisie Laitâ.
A general director has already been appointed to lead the operational recovery phase, while steps are being taken to identify a strategic partner capable of supporting development in the medium and long term.
According to advanced estimates, the complete resumption of production should take place over a period of approximately twelve months. This transitional phase aims to upgrade industrial capacities, stabilize management and reposition the company in a dairy market marked by strong structural tensions.
Return to a closure
The shutdown of the factory in 2018 took place in a particularly poor financial context and suspicions of corruption. The financial statements as of December 31 of the same year revealed serious imbalances. The auditors then issued an opinion with reservations, highlighting major uncertainty regarding the company’s ability to continue its operations.
This situation led to the dismissal of around 200 employees, while 154 others remained at the company’s disposal, without pay, throughout all these years.
On May 28, the company’s judicial administrator, Sadok Laarif, announced that the company “Elbene Industrie” was now placed under the supervision of the Caisse des DĂ©pĂŽts et Consignations, the financial arm of the State after the filing of an acquisition offer with the Sousse court of first instance, accompanied by a structured recovery plan aimed at sustainably relaunching the industrial site.
Entered into activity in 1978, this industrial unit, privatized in 2005, was one of the main contributors to the national production of milk and its derivatives. During peak periods, between January and April, daily production reached between 400,000 and 500,000 liters, and dropped to around 300,000 liters per day during the months of June, July and August.
The factory, formerly public, was privatized in 2005 and sold to two Tunisian investors for an amount of 8 million dinars, the Tunisian state nevertheless retaining 15% of the capital, via the National Agricultural Bank (BNA).
